MORE arrests are yet to be made in Dukuduku Village at Mtubatuba, Zululand.
This comes after the freshly skinned carcasses of a leopard and red duiker, believed to have been poached from the neighbouring St Lucia game reserve, were discovered in one of the homesteads on Sunday.
A 52-year-old woman was arrested but a member of her family who had allegedly poached the wild animals managed to escape before cops could catch him.
Late on Sunday night, a group of rangers from the game reserve’s anti-poaching unit and cops raided homes in the area.
That was after they received a tip-off from community members that a man believed to be a traditional healer was in a possession of dead wild animals in his house.
He allegedly caught them by setting snares earlier that day.
Major Thulani Zwane confirmed that a case was opened at Mtubatuba Police Station for investigation.
“A woman who was found in the homestead was arrested by Mtubatuba police and Ezemvelo KZN Wild Life for being in possession of protected species without a permit. She appeared in the Mtubatuba Magistrates Court on Monday but her court appearance results are not yet known at this stage,” he said.
Zwane said they hoped to arrest more suspects believed to be linked to the incident soon.
Ezemvelo KZN Wild Life spokesman, Musa Mntambo, said game reserves were well fenced but the poachers knew ways to trespass.
“I don’t know how they get in and what they do with the animals they poach. But I’m warning them that they will certainly face the might of law for their illegal actions if they happen to be caught,” he said.
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